This invention is in the field of ballot receptacles having slots and to devices for securing such slots.
A ballot is typically a paper sheet or card used to cast or register a vote, usually a secret one. While a receptacle in accordance with the invention is adapted to receive and store ballots, it is also useable as a depository for sheets or cards that are not ballots, but are completed survey forms or other filled out forms that must be collected, or any sort of identification or token used as a marker for making a choice.
For example, when a survey is conducted in a shopping mall in which a large number of shoppers are questioned regarding their preferences or objections to certain products, the responses of each shopper are entered on a survey form. There is a need therefore for a receptacle in which to deposit for safekeeping the filled-out forms to be sure that the survey is accurate and has not been tampered with.
A conventional ballot box receptacle is made of metal, wood, plastic, or other rigid material and is provided with a locked hinged cover having an entry slot therein to receive ballots, one at a time. One problem with a conventional ballot box is that it is possible to shake out the deposited ballots through the entry slot, particularly if it is wide relative to the thickness of the ballot sheet, card, or token. Hence unauthorized personnel may be able to tamper with the vote or with whatever use to which the ballots are put.
To prevent such tampering, U.S. Pat. No. 1,673,769 discloses a ballot box whose locked hinged cover has an entry slot therein, and a closure mounted on the underside of the entry slot. The closure takes the form of a pivoted plate that is weighted at one end so that the plate normally lies against the slot and is swung open only by a ballot inserted in the slot to admit the ballot into the box. But one cannot shake a deposited ballot out of the box, for then the entry slot is blocked by the plate.
The concern of the present invention is especially with ballot pouches fabricated of leather, fabric or other flexible material, for these are more easily carried and transported to and from a polling place than a rigid ballot box. Thus U.S. Pat. No. 806,050 shows a ballot pouch that includes a bag of flexible material such as leather or canvas having a rigid cover disc provided with an entry slot. To prevent tampering with the pouch, a spring-biased, hinged flap is mounted below the entry slot so that the flap is swung open by an inserted ballot. But once a ballot is deposited in the pouch, it is then blocked by the closed flap and cannot be withdrawn from the pouch through the entry slot. U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,113 discloses a ballot pouch having a chute defined by a weighted bag associated with the slot to prevent ballots in the pouch from passing out the slot.
Electronic voting boxes, like in U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,383, can include an electronic card reader and have a locked rear door to prevent removal of the ballots, but nothing prevents ballots from being inserted after balloting has ended (or to allege later that the electronic reader was faulty). Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,259 discloses a ballot box having an auxiliary slotted compartment for accepting ballots when the electronic device is inoperative.
Generally, devices such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,279,822 and 6,648,144, include some sort of door for access to the slot or the ballot area that is locked in place.
GB-A 2,064,638 and GB-A 2,355,233 describe tamper evident seals for zippered openings and for locks.
Another problem with ballot receptacles is that, even if locked, it is possible for an unscrupulous person to remove (pick) or break the lock, tamper with the ballots, or add or remove ballots, and then to replace the lock without anyone the wiser.